Don't Wanna Miss a Thing
by Smart Angel
Summary: A collaboration by Smart Angel and RavenAK. A sort of continuation to Funbari no Uta. Completed
1. Chapter 1

**Before you read this fanfic be aware that:**

if you haven't read Funbari no Uta, this fic is full of spoilers. So go read it now

We do not own Shaman King or Funbari no Uta. If we did there would be a lot more YohXAnna scenes and Hana wouldn't have been left alone.

**Don't wanna miss a thing**

_A fanfic by RavenAk and Smart Angel_

**Chapter 1**

After six years they finally made it, they were finally back, back to the inn, back home, back to their little son. It didn't seem real, after six long years they would see their little son, Hana.

Yoh and Anna had been waiting for that moment for so long. Now they were both standing in front of the Enn Inn. Their home. The home of their son. It was hard to believe that, just in the other side of those doors, a new life was waiting for the couple.

"Are you ready?" He asked his wife in excitement, and she nodded smiling. He tried to imagine how the baby he once knew would look like now, and holding onto that thought, he didn't hesitate as they walked straight to the Inn

Meanwhile, not too far away from there, the reason why they had returned, their most beloved treasure, Hana, was also lost in his thoughts, a different kind, though.

"What is it, little boss? Why so down-headed? Aren't you glad we completed our mission?" Hana's 'uncle', Ryu, asked him after noticing the face the child had been carrying all along since they returned from their little journey.

"I think mom is going to kill me anyway..." He said a little teary-eyed, a blue aura around him as he spoke. "...She said five, five warriors. We only got four and we don't even know where the other one is..."

"Oh, but you don't have to worry about that... How were we supposed to find him if we don't even know who he is?"

Hana looked him straight in his eyes with an extremely serious expression for a six year-old.

"You have that look again... You're making me nervous." Ryu said and then he laughed, trying to make the pressure go away.

"You're lying."

But it wouldn't go away so easily...

"Ly-lying?"

"Yes. It's just like when I ask you about my father, you say you don't know anything but when I look into your thoughts you're just repeating to yourself 'Don't think about it, don't let it slip' over and over again! Why are you hiding things from me?"

"Little boss... I've told you it's not ok to look into people's thoughts, you just end up hurting yourself because you don't understand many things about an adult's mind." He spoke as sincerely as he could, because he really cared about that kid, and he worried a lot about him too.

Sure, it was problematic dealing with a kid who could read minds, especially for someone who had to keep so many secrets as he was, but he had had six years to get used to it, and all he could really do was repeat in his mind 'Don't think about it, don't let it slip' to stop Hana from knowing the awful truth and hurting himself.

"... It's him, isn't it?" Hana answered after a short silence. Who was what? Did he find out? Did Ryu let anything slip? It was impossible!

"Who? What are you talking about, Hana?"

"The fifth warrior is my father, isn't he? That's why you were having the same thoughts when I talked about any of them. And for some reason you don't want me to find him."

'Smart kid... I couldn't expect any less considering who he comes from...' Ryu thought, and this time he didn't care if Hana was reading his thoughts, for it was some sort of compliment for him.

"I was right!" Hana smiled widely, his hand punching the air, considering himself victorious at least partially. "But I will find it out one day. I'll find my father so he and the other four can do whatever mom has planned, and I'll do it all by myself!"

Ryu smiled too. Hana was so innocent, smart and cute. "Yes, little boss, you will. Now let's go home, shall we? Your mom will be really mad if we arrive late."

As the couple opened the gate that led to the garden, they saw nothing different. Everything seemed the same as 6 years ago; but at the same time, they knew it wasn't. Somewhere in this house was their little son. Hana lived there; Hana had grown up there. Sure, they could never go back all those years, but they would not miss one day of Hana's life from now on. They would finally be a family… Just like it should have been before.

They walked past the garden and opened the door. In front of the doors was a wooden sandal… That was Tamao's. They could tell. By the side were two indoors slippers… A big one, and a little one.

Anna went down to her knee and took the slipper in her hands. Those were _his_ slippers. Hana's slippers… She tried to hold her smile but it was impossible. It was like she finnaly realized how close she was to see her little son.

"His feet…" she looked up to her husband, and then back at the slippers. "They are so small… It's like…"

"He's not here. " Yoh interrupted. Anna looked surprised. She could notice he was a little disappointed "He is not here… He is out now…"

"Maybe he is in school or something." She answered. It was funny how at that moment, Anna was being the positive one, and not Yoh "He's about 6 years old… He goes to school already. Now this way is better… We can surprise him."

"You're right!" back to his usual self "We will surprise Hana! And we can take this time to learn more about him, right?"

Anna only nodded. She was about to answer something when they heard footsteps coming from the kitchen and going on their direction.

"Who is there?" asked a female voice "We are not open yet" yelled the voice, coming closer "If it's Hana and Ryu you better have… "

The voice stopped once its owner was standing right in front of the couple. Tamamura Tamao couldn't believe her eyes. Right in front of her was Yoh and his wife Anna. Her breath stopped, her eyes were wide open, the towel she was holding in her right hand fell on the floor. She was speechless.

"Nice to see ya too Tamao." Greeted Yoh with his always cheerful smile.

"Master Yoh…" that was the only thing Tamao could say… She couldn't believe her eyes. She knew they would come back soon… But… She didn't knew it would be _that_ soon! She wasn't ready… But… There they were… Right in front of her… Not knowing anything that happened in the past 6 years.

"You look great Tamao… Aren't you going to invite us in?" asked Anna, a little annoyed. Sure, they were away for 6 years, but letting them stand there on the door with no slippers to go inside their own home was just rude.

"I… I'm sorry… Please… Come in…" Tamao said, bowing so she could apologize.

A smile appeared on Anna's lip "You look different but you are still the same inside…" She looked back at the slippers in her hand "I believe Hana isn't home yet…"

"Oh… No, he isn't… I told him and Ryu to… To do a favor… They'll be back in a while." she said, Tamao was getting nervous. She needed to tell them what happened before Hana came in… She needed to tell them now. "Please Master Yoh… Miss Anna…. Follow me… I… I'll serve some tea… And fill you in on what happened during these years…"

Tamao didn't realize it, but what she said made Yoh and Anna really sad. They loved their son so much… He meant their lives to them… They would do anything to have him smile… They knew they were away for so long… But to know that they needed to be filled in Hana's life… It made them so sad…

Tamao guided them to the living room, where it had a tea table. Yoh and Anna sat down and waited for Tamao to come back with 3 hot teas. They looked around the living room. Nothing different. At least the house wasn't different…

Tamao came in with the tea and served it. She sat across from them and looked at them, before taking a deep breath. "Hana sleeps in your room Miss Anna…" Tamao started "I figured you would move in master Yoh's room, so I gave him yours…" she took out something she was holding and showed it to them. It was a picture. A picture of Hana. He was in the garden, playing. He was in a big tree, hanging from his legs. His arms were in the air and so was his blond hair. He had pale skin and a big smile across his face. He had a few bandaids, but that only showed how much he liked to run around and do this sort of things. "We took that last month…" she said quietly, handing the picture.

Yoh took the picture and looked at it. Anna was speechless. She could feel tears forming in her eyes… It was her little son… Her little baby… She could remember when he fit in her arms perfectly… He was so big… He seemed so happy…. Yet, she never shared that happiness with him… Anna never shared any moments of his life with him… The happy moments he wanted to tell his parents, the sad moments when he was upset about school… All those moments he needed her, she wasn't there… 'Well that's going to change…' she thought, cleaning her tears with her hands 'From now on… I will never leave him… I'll work hard so he can love me and trust me… I'm not going to give up'

Yoh's reaction wasn't any different from Anna's. He was so happy... A goofy smile appeared in his lips. His little boy… Little Hana wasn't a baby anymore… No… He was now a 6 years old kid with lots of energy. Yoh could already see him and Hana playing around the house and Anna yelling at them not to break anything… His mind raced, thinking of different things he wanted to do with his little boy. He also couldn't believe how Hana looked so much like him and Anna at the same time.

"He looks a lot like you Anna…" said Yoh, still smiling "He is pale just like you… And his hair looks like a short version of yours!"

"He looks quite a lot like you too Yoh…" Anna said, still looking at the picture "Hana has your smile, your face… I think from now on you will act more like a child than an adult and I will have to take care of Hana AND Yoh… "

"Hana has also both of your personalities…" Tamao said, taking their attention "He is really lazy; But he also has a short temper. And he is… Really cute…" a smile appeared in her lips "Sometimes… It feels like neither of you never left."

Silence surrounded them for a few seconds, while each of them remained lost in their own thoughts, until Yoh finally broke it.

"We really don't know how to thank you enough for everything you've done so far with Hana... And we want you to know that, we will do anything to try to make it up to you, although nothing we do will ever be enough compared to what you've done."

"Yes, we'll always be in debt." Anna added nodding in agreement. "We really owe you a lot, so whatever you need in return to your favor, we'll give it to you."

"That's very... thoughtful of you, but..." Tamao's voice broke as she held her tea cup tighter, her head down. "I'm the one who owes you, because..."

Then they could see some tears forming in her eyes as she put her cup on the table and put her hands on her lap, forming some small fists.

"Because..." Yoh tried to help her continue.

"Because... What I did... It was wrong, and it's just my fault... But..." The tears started falling slowly as she started to find it hard to talk any more.

"What happened? What did you do? Did anything happen to Hana?" Anna asked starting to get worried.

"No, Hana is okay... But... I..." She started breathing heavily, trying to hold back the tears with no success, desperately trying to talk, to just tell the truth already before it got even worse. She could feel their stares on her face, although she was looking down. She had captured their entire attention, which was her intention, but she never wanted this terrible suspense and this urge to run away. "How do I even start?"

"Just try to start from the beginning, but please don't leave us hanging like this..." Yoh tried to help her, wondering what the suspense was due to. He put his cup on the table and looked straight at her, like he pretended to get the information out of her eyes.

"Well, when you left..." She said as she dried the few tears that had managed to fall. "I could notice that Hana was felling anxious, he was always searching for something, he didn't sleep well, he cried... He missed you both so terribly, and I felt so sorry for him..."

More tears started to appear as she tried to keep herself together. The two people sitting in front of her had both sad looks as they listened what she had just said. They had left their little child, alone, abandoned and confused. They felt guilty about it, although they never meant to. But now they felt guilty and also puzzled, because they didn't understand why she was apologizing and crying so hard... What had happened?

"... I thought with time it would get better, but... he just started to cry even more and he didn't want to eat, or sleep, or anything at all. I was so desperate, I didn't know what to do, all I did was pray that you would be back soon to fix it, but you didn't, and I..." She put a hand on her forehead, as it could help her release the tension, the tension of the secrets and the lies...

"What did you do to him?" Anna asked in an icy tone, a tone that would always scare the poor Tamao, one that she would never get used to, one that could send shivers through her spine, like some sort of torture to make her tell the truth.

"I..." She couldn't take it anymore. She would talk, even if she got killed,even if it meant the end of the world. Talking was much better than taking in the tension and the pain that it represented. "One day, I... I pretended to be you, Anna-san... I dressed up and acted as if I were you to see if that would keep him calm, and it worked..."

She took another big breath and tried to stay calm, but her hands were shaking, for this was the hardest part of the story. She kept her eyes closed as she spoke, preparing to receive whatever had to come."It was as if all he needed was his mom to be around, he was happy again, and his behaviour was back to normal. The problem was, that when I returned to my usual self the cycle started again... I couldn't take it anymore, he was so unhappy and I was too... So I... decided to stay that way... It was the best for everyone..."

"So... What you're trying to say is..."

"Hana has always believed that I am his mother." She closed her eyes tighter and hid her face behind her hair, feeling the pressure filling her body, waiting for the reaction to come, for the pain.

Anna's eyes got wide. She couldn't believe her ears. Her son had no idea who she was. He thought that the woman in front of her was his mother! On her way back she thought the worst that could happen was Hana hating her. Now she didn't have to worry about that… Her child didn't even know who she was! She could never imagine that her own child was living a lie during all these years! This was a lot worse than what she had imagined. How would Hana react when he found out? How would he react to the fact that his real mother was away for all those years and now she was back and about to change his life forever? Was he going to accept her? Was he going to accept Yoh? Was he ever going to see her as his mother? Those were the things wondering in Anna's mind.

"Tamao, do you have any idea what you have done?" asked Yoh in a unusual serious voice. He also couldn't believe what he had just heard. He knew that it wouldn't be simple to talk to Hana at the beginning. He knew that Hana would feel awkward to talk to his parents for the first time… Maybe even blame them for leaving and take some time to forgive them… But now it was a whole different story. Hana never knew his parents were away! For him his mother was a 19 year old woman, and his father was God knew who. Everything Hana believed to be true was a lie. They would have to ruin everything. Gosh, what will they do?

"I-I know… I-I'm sorry!" Tamao was getting even more nervous "I-I didn't know what to do! Hana… Hana wouldn't stop crying! I-I thought it was for the best if… If Hana thought I was his mother and… And so I decided to… To lie to him."

"YOU WHAT?!" yelled a child's voice from the door.

They all turned to the door and saw Ryu standing at the door with a little boy by his side. Ryu was looking at Tamao like he was saying _I'm sorry._

The boy wasn't too tall but also wasn't too short. He had a blond, dirty, messy hair. His skin was pale and he had big dark eyes. His clothes were dirty and he had a few band-aids in his arms and legs. In his right hand, he was holding the futsu no mitana.

There was no need to ask who that boy was. It was pretty obvious to both Yoh and Anna that the boy standing in the door was their little son. He looked shocked. His eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly open. Now they knew Tamao wasn't kidding.

"Mother…" he said, getting close to Tamao. He didn't know, but Anna felt like the world had fallen apart. "Please, tell me that's not true."

No answer came from Tamao.

"Mom!" he called again. And again, no answer came. The boy turned to his uncle, a little teary-eyed "Ryu!"

"I'm sorry little boss…" Answered Ryu. He turned his head so he wouldn't see the boy's eyes. It really hurt to see that boy who he cared so much for like that. "But it's true… That was what I was keeping a secret during all these years…" Ryu took a deep breath before looking at Yoh and Anna, who seemed just as furious and sad as Hana. 'They do look alike' "Those…" he pointed to Yoh and Anna "Those are your real parents."

"Hana…" Yoh tried to call his son, but it was in vain. Hana didn't even turn around to look at his father. He just ran upstairs, holding back some tears.

"Does it really seems like this was for the best?" asked Anna, with an icy tone, now looking at the girl in front of her.

"I-I'm sorry…" Tamao could feel tears in her eyes.

"Felling guilty won't help!" yelled Anna, standing up "Does it really seems like Hana, MY son is happy because of your stupid lies?!"

"Miss Anna… Please calm down…" Ryu stepped between the two "Tamao really cares for Hana… She was just trying to help."

"Hana is now locked in his room crying… Well, that was a great help! " she yelled at her again "What were you…" but somebody interrupted her.

"Instead of arguing how about we go upstairs and calm Hana down?" it was a rhetorical question. Yoh was just as furious as Anna, but arguing would help Hana at that moment.

They all went upstairs heading to the direction of Anna's old room. The door was closed, and they could hear a low cry.

"Hana…?" called Tamao while knocking on the door.

"Leave me alone!" yelled the boy from the other side.

"Little boss, please, listen to us." This time it was Ryu calling.

"Why should I? You lied to me during all these years!"

"Hana… Please, let's talk." Now it was Yoh, trying to choose the right words.

"Just go away…" his voice was now very low.

"Can you see what you've done?!" Anna yelled at Tamao as loud as her anger made her, while she just stood there with tears in her eyes, clearly ready to burst in desperation in any second. She never gathered enough strength to be able to take the pain in. "He doesn't want to come out, he won't come out, how could you...?"

She lifted her hand almost as a reflex to slap the poor woman in the face. It was the only way she knew to deal with her problems, whether they were desperation, anger, sadness, impotence, or a cocktail made of all the above. But before it hit its target, Yoh's hand was soon wrapped around her wrist to stop her, making her feel even more impotent.

"What are you doing?!" She asked him, clearly knowing the answer, but too desperate to care.

"This is not the time for these things." He said seriously, still holding her wrist.

"What do you mean? Are you taking her side? I must remind you, Hana is your son too..."

"I know. And he's what matters the most right now, and always."

"Of course he's what matters the most. That's exactly why she deserves it!" She tried to justify the unconscious action she was just about to commit.

"How are we supposed to deal with him if we can't deal with ourselves? Just calm down. Let's give him some time to clear his mind and we return later. We'll be fine. Just... Just remember what we have been planning all along, with him, with us together. Think of that." He could feel how the tension in her hand was slowly disappearing, and so was the grip he had in her wrist. But now she had her head down and was breathing hard. She didn't know how to take it in just yet. "Hey, I feel the same way but... We can't break down like that. We must be strong. For him. For all of us, okay?"

"...Fine" She said after a short silence, trying to recover her hand. He let her go finally and smiled at her. A fake, yet hopeful smile. His trademark one.

"Why don't we all go downstairs and talk some more? We need to catch up on many things." Ryu suggested, trying to be as helpful as possible.

"Yeah, let's do that." Yoh answered quickly, wishing everything was just a bad dream...

Meanwhile, a heartbroken kid who was still locked in his room and swore to himself would never come out, remained crying over his whole life was a lie. Everyone had agreed to lie to him, why? Why would they want to do that to him? Was he that bad to deserve something like that? He never thought he was an unwanted kid, he simply thought his father was away or had died, and his mom just had a bad temper... But it was a different story. His mom wasn't his mom, she was a different person. And his dad wasn't gone by himself, his mom had gone too. So maybe neither of them ever loved him... Maybe nobody loved him at all.

"Hana-dono..." He heard the sound of a voice he knew very well, he was the only one that would speak to him in such a polite way, the only one that respected him... possibly, the only one who knew him, the only one who could comfort him in that moment. "...Is something wrong?"

"Ah..." The kid replied trying to hide all emotion, as he quickly wiped his tears with the back of his hand. "Matamune... Nothing's wrong..."

But Matamune wouldn't be fooled so easily. He had been Hana's guardian spirit ever since the kid could remember, before he could even speak, and since the two had always been around each other, they had developed a bond in which they could feel what the other was feeling without needing words. Hana was obviously lying... Something was very, very wrong... but he wouldn't admit it just like that.

"Mmm... I think you're not telling me something..." Matamune said as he came closer to the bed, trying to meet Hana's eyes, but they were still hiding in the pillow, along with the rest of his face. "Don't you trust in me anymore?"

"I don't know..." And with that, Hana finally stopped crying for real and turned to look at him with a sort of icy stare... a strangely familiar one. "Should I?"

"Mm?" Matamune tilted his head to a side trying to comprehend that strange scene. What in the world was wrong with that kid?

"I have found it out already..." He said trying not to cry again. "The truth."

"The... truth?"

"Yeah, the truth. The truth about my mom, about my real parents, about myself... I really don't know if there's anyone I can trust anymore."

"Hana-dono..."

"You knew it, too, didn't you?! You've known it all along! But you chose to lie to me, you lied just like everyone else! I thought you were my best friend, why did you lie too?!"

"Hana-dono, I..."

"Don't you dare tell me you didn't know anything, I'm not stupid! You're with them in this, aren't you? You've always known it but you chose to lie! Everyone lied! Neither of you ever cared for me at all!" And just when it seemed like he was gonna break something, he stopped right there. He felt as if he was losing grip and a huge pain accumulated in his chest. It wasn't just the emotional pain, but... he could literally _feel _it in his body. He stopped to breathe for a moment and Matamune took this chance to speak his point.

"You're right about something. We all lied to you, and yes, we all agreed to it, but you're wrong about something as well. We didn't choose to hide the truth because we don't care about you... On the contrary, we did so because we didn't want to hurt you."

"No, you're lying again! If you had done it for my own good, why does it hurt so much right now?" Hana tried to fight the tears back but it was almost unbearable. And the pain in his chest was increasing the more he spoke.

"We never meant for you to find out this way... We just didn't want you to suffer."

"Shut up, I don't have to listen to you!" He made an effort to get up and gathering all the strength he had in his little body, he opened his room's window.

"Hana-dono! What are you doing?"

"Leave me alone, I don't want to know anything about any of you. I don't wanna have anything to do with this family!" And saying that, Hana jumped out of the window and ran away from the Inn, with Matamune following him.

"I already told you I don't wanna talk to you... Stop chasing me." Hana said to Matamune once he had found a road to walk tranquilly, a place he considered safe to walk on after so much running.

"As your guardian spirit it's my duty to be by your side at all times..." Hana pretended not to hear Matamune's words and he kept on walking. His attitude was that of an arrogant, rebelious teenager, but he was just a six year-old kid with a broken heart and a really puzzled mind. Then he suddenly stopped and turned around to talk to the nekomata.

"Matamune... What side are you on? You've always been my guardian spirit, you've taken care of me, you've protected me, you've been my friend... But at the same time, you've kept an important secret from me, and you've behaved just like nothing! What do you really want?"

"What I really want... is to keep those who are dear to me all tranquil and happy."

"That doesn't say much..." Hana said annoyed as he clasped his hands in the back of his head and kept on walking, realizing he was just passing by a children's playground. It was a sunny day and all the kids were having so much fun... None of them was alone. They all had friends, brothers, sisters, cousins or parents... Some of them had it all. And what did he have?

He walked by it a little faster but the children's laughing could reach his ears. He stopped again and looked. A child was running towards his mom and she was hugging him so dearly, like she had missed him so much, even if she had probably been around the whole time. They both looked so alike and seemed to be so happy with each other. They both had brown hair and big brown eyes... you could even say they had similar haircut. No one could deny they were mother and son... But what about him? Not only his mom would never be so happy when receiving him in her arms, she didn't treat him with any sign of familiarity... Because she wasn't. Hana made small fists in his hands as the pain in his chest grew even more and the memories returned...

"Hana... Let's go home."

It was just the end of another normal school day. The only difference about it was that in that particular day, it was raining, and since Hana had left his umbrella at home, his mom had gone to pick him up at school, for the very first time.

"Mom!" He yelled happily as he got up from his spot to go to her, but she just stood there holding her umbrella with her same old emotionless face.

"Oh, Hana, is that your mom? I had never met her." A girl from his class asked him.

"Yeah she is." He answered smiling happily. He was glad that his mom called attention between his classmates.

"Oh... You don't look like her at all... And she looks so young as well." She remarked and then left, because her own mom had picked her up as well. Hana looked in that direction and noticed the girl's mom affections towards her, and how much alike they were.

"Hana! Are you moving or what?!" Tamao yelled at him as he hurried up to meet her and she gave him his own umbrella, and they both walked in silence towards home...

That girl had been right all along. They didn't look like relatives at all, and they didn't act like relatives either, but all that time Hana had comforted himself thinking that maybe he looked more like his dad, whom he had never met... He had comforted himself on a lie.

A laugh took Hana out of his thoughts. He looked around to find where it came from, and saw a little boy playing around with his father. They were so happy playing together. Even their thoughts were happy and full of joy. Happy thoughts, big smiles, laughter... All that made Hana sick.

Hana started feeling hate growing inside him. Hate and sadness. Why did he feel that way? Why did all that laughter and happiness bother him so much? Was it because all the kids playing around him had something he did not? Was it because... They were all happy playing with their parents? Was it because... His parents didn't care fore him?

Yes. That was it. His parents didn't care. If they did care for him, they would not had left. They never did care for Hana. Neither did Ryu or Tamao. No one did. And staying here and seeing all those kids with their parents, hearing all their damn happy thoughts... All that made Hana so angry. He never knew that kind of joy. He would never know how that feels.

Hana stopped walking. He looked down, but couldn`t see. His eyes were being covered with tears. Why couldn`t he have a normal family? Have a normal family and have normal parents? He was never really social because of his powers. And kids always made fun of his hair, because it was so blond and different from his mother's. Hana knew those were problems he would have to face as a shaman, but he never imagined his problems could get more complicated than that. How wrong he was.

"And I thought... " he said to himself, while cleaning his tears "Asakura Hana never cried..."

"Hana-Dono..." called Matamune from behind.

"You know what? Forget them!" Hana yelled, eyes full of hate "Forget all of them! Forget my mother, my father and all of those who lied to me! I don't care anymore! They could just drop dead for all I care!" with that, Hana started running away from Matamune.

Tha happy thoughts of the children and their parents invaded him at that moment. He stopped with the impact of so many thoughts coming at once. Never had his power been that strong. He could read thougts and feelings from people who were miles away. And he couldn't make it stop!

"AAAARRRGHHHHH!!!!" the boy yelled as he fell on the floor, holding his ears. Why was that happening? And why only happy and joyful thoughts were invading his mind? Why was everybody so happy when he was in so much pain? Why was everyone ignoring him? Didn't anyone care? Not at all?! Not even his parents...? Not even... A little bit?

"Hana-dono!" Matamune yelled and started to run rowards his best friend. He knew what was happeing. He feared that for so long. Hana had finally lost control of his power.

"I told you to go away Matamune!" Hana yelled, not looking at the nekomata. "You can go back to the Inn and stay there with those idiots who abandoned me!"

"Hana-dono..."

Hana closed his eyes as more thoughts invaded his mind. Why was that happening to him? Wasn't he already suffering enough with the fact he just found out that his whole life was a lie?

"Little boy..." called a concerned voice, looking at Hana with worried eyes "Are you okay?" she asked. But Hana could read her mind. She wasn't really worried about him. She knew he was a member from the Asakura family, and she knew how wealthy the Asakura family was. She just wanted to help Hana so she could have some kind of reward later.

"Mother!! Come quck! Look what I can do!" called a little boy.

"In a minute sweetie..." she said with a sweet smile on her face, then she turned back to Hana. "Are you okay? Do you want me to call your parents?"

It was a mistake to mention his parents. Hana hated them. Hate? How could he hate someone he just met? He didn't know the answer. But he knew one thing for sure. He hated his parents. And he couldn't forgive them. He could never forgive them. He would never forget this feeling. The feeling of being abandoned, of being hated, the feeling of living a lie for his whole life and having everyone he loved and trusted lying and fooling him for all those years. He hated them He hated them all!

"Leave me the hell alone!" he yelled. But it wasn't just for the woman. It was also for his parents, for Matamune and for all of the thoughts that invaded his mind.

With that, Hana rose to his feet and started to run. Run away from everything. He wanted to go some place where it was quiet and none of those happy and annoying thoughts could invade his mind and make him feel worse than he was already.

"Hana-dono! Wait!" Matamune yelled. He needed to inform Yoh-sama and Anna-sama right away. But he couldn't leave Hana. If things continued like that... "The incident in Osorezan will be repeated."

With that in mind, Matamune followed his young master. He still remebered when the little boy was just a baby. He remembered how he felt when he saw Hana for the first time. He also remebered the day Anna-sama left.

It was raining. Anna-sama wanted to make the crying baby sleep before she left. But she couldn't. The weather was just getting worse, and little Hana wouldn't stop crying. Anna-sama had no choice. She gave the little boy to Tamao, and looked at him with teary-eyes and a sad smile. Hana stopped crying for a second, and tried to touch his mommy. Anna-sama's smile grew a little bit, and she held his hand and then kissed it. "Mommy will be right back, okay Hana-chan? And when she comes back, daddy will be with her..."

"Da... Da..." said the little boy, making Anna-sama smile and tears started to come out from her eyes "Dada will be here with Mommy... And we can finally be one happy family."

She kissed the forehead of her son goodbye, grabbed her bag, and left. Since that day Hana cried every night there was a thunder storm. Hana didn't know why, but Matamune knew. Hana missed Anna. Hana wanted his mother. And Hana was afraid of being left behind again. When thunder storms came, Hana would cry and ask Matamune to stay by his side the whole time. He didn't want to be abandoned again. And Matamune would never do that. Not to his little master. Not to his best friend.

"Hana-dono!" Matamune tried to call him again, but it was in vain. Hana continued to run.

They were now in the forest. Matamune could see some lost souls. That was bad. If Hana's power was so powerful as Anna's, it wouldn't take long until he attracted those lost souls and created an oni.

Hana continued to run. He noticed that some of the thoughts were fading away because of the distance. He realized then. All he needed to do was to continue running. Run until he was far from everything and everyone. Too far for the thoughts to reach him.

After some time running he found a big abandoned haunted building. The windows were broken, and the ceiling was falling apart. It was a very dangerous place. Around it was full of dirt and the grass was big and some flowers started to grow next to the door, covering the entrace. There was also a sign saying "Building in construction, be careful. SPK Company."

Matamune remembered that name from somewhere. Oh yeah... They were building something in this isolated area of Tokyo. All of the constructors died on a fire.

"Oh no..." Matamune said, realizing what was going to happen soon. There were many lost souls in that place. Hana would soon start to create onis. "I have to inform Yoh-sama and Anna-sama... Or else..." Matamune didn't want to think about that 'or else'. He needed to go. And fast.

Meanwhile, in the Inn, awkward silence filled the living room and the tension could be cut with scissors. No one really felt like talking, and if anyone dared, it wouldn't have satisfactory results... But Yoh needed to talk. He knew they all needed to. He had just met his child for the first time after all those years and he had seen him troubled and confused. He didn't have the chance to take a good look at him, to sit down and talk to him, to tell him how much he meant to him even if they knew little about each other... Everything happened so quick and... wrong. It was not at all the way he had planned it.

Yoh found himself drinking another cup of tea with Ryu and Tamao in front of him. She, trying desperately not to shake as she held her cup and looking down in shame. He, looking at different spots, but never at Yoh, like he was avoiding him, also in shame. Then he also started to look around and his eyes found Anna in a corner looking through some pictures. By the look on her face, they were Hana pictures. He knew it because it was an expression that had never existed on her before Hana came into their lives, and it only appeared when it was something about him... He didn't know exactly what it was, but he assumed it had something to do with becoming a mother. He smiled a little just for the heck of it, just because he was Yoh and he had to be optimistic. Just because he couldn't just stay there worrying and doing nothing about it.

"So... Is Hana always this... temperamental or just on given situations?" Yoh looked at everyone's reactions as he talked. It was a casual question, but since no one had dared to talk, it was strange and unexpected, so everyone turned to look and listen.

"W-Well... um..." Tamao cleared her throat. "He is usually calm but at times, when he has problems in school, he comes straight to his room and he doesn't even feel like eating."

"Problems in school?" Yoh asked curious but mostly concerned. He felt so weird and empty. His son had problems of different kinds and he had never been there to comfort him. He had great plans for him, he had thought that he would never, ever, let Hana have a childhood like he had... but apparently it was worse, and it was because of him, because of his abscence... Tamao lowered her head and went silent so Ryu spoke for her.

"Some kids there tease him because he's different. He can see spirits, he doesn't look much like his mom, he doesn't know his dad... They often tell him he's adopted, sometimes they even say he's an alien because he's strange and he doesn't look like anyone they know of..." Ryu spoke softly and hurt because of the kid's life. He was so young and he already had to go through so much... Anna put the pictures back in place not very delicatedly and returned to her seat next to Yoh, her hands turned into fists, biting her bottom lip as if she was holding back from choking someone to death.

"I can't believe he actually has to go through that..." Yoh said, noticing how low his tone came, feeling even emptier and colder. He couldn't help but remember his old childhood, and he remembered inmediately the countless times he promised himself he would never allow anyone to make his son feel like that. He had failed... He had failed to the most important promise in his life...

"And what have you done to stop that?!" Anna let it out at last, trying to blame those two in front of her for all the pain little Hana had to go through... or at least to make them say something, anything at all, anything that assured her Hana would be fine soon. How could they allow that? Didn't they care for him or what?

"I don't know what can I do... I have told him to stop talking about ghosts in front of other people, but he says he can't lie, and then they tease him again... If he only stopped..." Tamao argued teary-eyed.

"So now you're blaming him? He's a child, and you're supposedly his... mother... aren't you? What was the point of lying to him all along if it doesn't bring him any happiness, if it doesn't make his life easier?!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Anna-san, please..."

And the cycle started all over again. No matter what Yoh tried to do to stop it, everyone's emotions would eventually come out and crash against each other, leading nowhere. And his emotions were there too, he just refused to let them out...

"I think _everyone _should be quiet now and try to be at peace. It's been about an hour since Hana is in his room, he must be tired by now, right?" Yoh interrupted the discussion. "I say we should go check on him now, maybe he even fell asleep and all..."

"That won't be necessary, Yoh-dono."

"Matamune?" Yoh asked as he saw the kitten's figure on the door. It had been so long, and it seemed like something had happened to him, for he was all dirty and a little scarred, like he had been dragged in the dirt. "Matamune! Long time no see!"

"Everyone, I'm sorry to interrupt your discussion, but there's something important I need to tell you. Hana-dono is..."

**Continue in Chapter 2**

RavenAK: Hello out there! This is the first time we write a fic together and we're so excited to share it with you. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it. This fic is inspired in Funbari no Uta, and we wanted to make it in an attempt to explain the events that happened there, and give it a happy ending! Because Takei hates happy endings T.T

Smart Angel: Hi! So everything RavenAk said is true. In short, we love Hana, we love YohXAnna, but we hated the ending Takei gave to Funbari no Uta. We are angry fans trying to make this family happy because apparently Takei just hates making his characters happy. o.o And he likes to torture us, of course.


	2. Chapter 2

**Before you read this fanfic be aware that:**

if you haven't read Funbari no Uta, this fic is full of spoilers. So go read it now

We do not own Shaman King or Funbari no Uta. If we did there would be a lot more YohXAnna scenes and Hana wouldn't have been left alone.

**Chapter 2**

"Are you completely sure he ran in this direction?" Yoh asked while he ran as fast as he could behind Matamune, who had guided him and Anna through all the places Hana had been at.

"Yes, I'm sure. That's the last place he was at when I left him. I hope he hasn't moved from there!" Matamune answered with the others following him as they quickly arrived to said place.

"Yes, I can sense he's definitely here." Anna assured the others.

"So you decided to come! How brave of you!" Hana spoke from an upper floor. He didn't look like the sweet child he once was, though, he looked like he had clearly been possesed and was now in trance. He had an expression Matamune had never seen in him, and it was actually quite scary.

"Hana-dono!"

"And you!... You returned after all... I thought you were too scared to stay." It was true. He _was _in trance. Now it was clearly obvious when they saw the Oni behind him, smirking like making fun of how pathetic they were...

"An Oni... Just like that time..." Yoh spoke slowly. He never in a million years expected that day to turn out like that. He had just returned from such a long journey, but the real battle of his life had really just begun.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Anna yelled at the Oni.

"Oh, I did nothing to him. From what he's told me, it was _you _guys who've made him turn into this. Which is actually very good, because he discovered that his power is good enough to give you what you deserve!"

As cold as it sounded, the Oni's answer was partly true. They had some responsability on what had happened to Hana, his feelings towards them was what activated the power. But, it was when his feelings got out of control that he created the Oni. And he was right, the Oni hadn't done anything to him, to the contrary, Hana was his creator, so indirectly... the Oni was caused by them.

"You're going to swallow those words. I would have never done anything to hurt him..." Anna spoke to the Oni as softly as she could to avoid going berserk... It was not advisable to lose her mind in a situation where Hana had lost his.

"Liar! You lied to me, not just you, everyone! Everyone in this world is made of lies! The only one I can really trust is this creature, and that's because I've made it!" Hana yelled completely out of control. He wasn't rational. He was full of hate and other feelings he couldn't comprehend. "That's right. It's the only one who can understand me, because it was born from my very own feelings..."

"That's not true, Hana! The Oni is just using you to-" Yoh tried to explain, but Hana cut his words off.

"Shut up!! I don't wanna hear anything else from you, it's just a bunch of lies! Oni, kill them, and when you're done, we'll finish the other two."

"Ha ha ha... Your wish is my command... father." With that, the Oni proceeded to jump out to the first floor, where they were.

"They're all the same, aren't they?" Yoh asked, pulling out his sword and gathering strength from God knows where in order to save his little son.

"I'm beginning to think it's some sort of pattern..." Anna answered, moving to a side as she waited for the Oni to be face to face with them.

"Who shall I kill first? Or do you want me to end them all at once?" The Oni asked Hana when it was finally in front of them.

"It doesn't really matter to me! As long as you do it quick, you can kill them any way you want!" answered Hana, with his voice full of hate. The truth was that he was in a lot of pain. In his mind, if he killed the ones responsible for it, the pain would go away.

"As you wish… Father." The Oni said, starting to attack the two adults.

Yoh and Anna could dodge the first attack easily. Anna looked at Yoh's direction with worried eyes. He knew what she was thinking. She did not want to attack the oni. Hana was right behind him, one attack and they could end up hurting the little blonde shaman.

Yoh opened an encouraging smile. He was afraid too. The last thing he wanted was his little son hurt. Before, Yoh and Anna would always sit down together and talk about how things would be when they came back. They talked about Hana and the many things they wanted to do with him. Playing at the park, watching movies together, playing at the garden, everyday activities that they never had a chance to do. Yoh looked forward to all of it. But he knew, and Anna knew too, that they could only do all of that if they defeated the oni and helped Hana during this hard time.

"Don't worry… Everything is going to be fine." Yoh smiled and looked at Hana. He was so big. "Let's bring the oni away from Hana. Matamune, you… You know Hana better than we do; and you're also his best friend. Try to calm him down."

"I'll do my best Yoh-sama." Matamune bowed.

"You have to do better than your best, stupid nekomata!" said Anna. She liked Matamune, but at times like these she couldn't help but being rude and mean to everyone but Yoh and Hana, the two most important people in her life. Maybe not Yoh, but she could never be mean or rude with Hana, her little son. The same little boy who was now suffering so much because of the same problem she had before "I hate seen him like that. I know what he is going through."

"Are you done chit-chatting? Oni, kill them! NOW!" yelled Hana. Tears were forming in his eyes. He could not take it anymore.

"Sure Father." The oni smiled and went on with his attack.

Yoh and Anna did a great job trying to bring the oni away from Hana. They were at a great distance. Now they could destroy the oni, without worrying about hurting little Hana.

Matamune followed the plan and ran to Hana. When he got there what he saw was little Hana, sitting with his face buried in his knees. His eyes were shut and tears were coming down rapidly. His little hands were holding his ears tight enough to hurt him, as he tried to block the thoughts.

"Hana-dono…"

"Go away Matamune." He said, not looking at his friend.

"Hana-dono, please…"

"I told you to go away!" yelled Hana.

"Hana-dono, listen to me!" Matamune pleaded.

"Why?! Why should I listen to you?" Hana stood up and faced Matamune "Why should I listen to someone who lied to me during 6 years?! I had it! I had enough! Enough of all of you!" Then he felt a sharp pain and more thoughts invaded his head. "enough… enough…" Hana cried "If all of you… If all you just died… If all of you just died all the pain would go away… I can't take it…"

"Hana-dono!!" Matamune yelled as he watched the kid starting to lose conciousness. Of course, if that happened, the Oni would be out of control, and there was a chance it might devour Hana's soul. "Hana-dono!! Stay with us, don't faint!"

Matamune tried to hold the kid and to shake him a little to see if he reacted, and there was just a little response, but overall he seemed tired and tormented. The neko's efforts called the attention of Hana's parents, and it was obvious to anyone that the poor kid was just a confused and melancholic child that needed some meaning in his life. The Oni was just taking advantage of that, and honestly, no one was strong enough to take that.

"Matamune! What happened to him?" Yoh called from his place, concerning about the child's state since the cat seemed so frustrated.

"He's starting to lose conciousness. I'm afraid if we don't stop the Oni right now Hana-dono might get seriously injured." Matamune said with concern. Then Yoh took a look at the kid next to Matamune, his poor son, all wounded and hurt, unnecessarily, because of him, because of his problems, because of people's issues and because of that damn Oni.

"That's it!!!" Yoh had had it. He had to stop that damn thing in that very same moment. He hadn't missed 6 years of his son's life to just lose him right then, he had done that sacrifice in order to make the world a better place for him and everyone, just so he could return and make him happy. He was not going to lose against a stupid Oni who tried to take away what mattered the most to him. "Hey, Oni. I'm sorry, but I can't let you go any further."

"Yoh! What are you planning to do?" Anna asked concerned as well. Her own frustration and despair didn't let her think straight, and she couldn't think of a plan. She knew that Oni would pay for hurting Hana, but she didn't think sacrificing Yoh would be the right answer for that problem. He couldn't do anything crazy, it would have been like he wasted so many years trying to come back and be with Hana, just to die the same day he met him.

"Yoh-dono! I can do it! If I have to sacrifice myself to save Hana-dono's life, I can do it. After all... I was commanded to protect him, and it seems like I haven't been doing such a good job." Matamune said with a sad smile. He looked at Hana who was still battling with his own pain, crying and murmuring things about everyone dying and pain leaving him alone.

"Ha ha ha, look at that! Everyone wants to sacrifice in order to defeat me. But don't worry, you can ALL attack me at once and 'sacrifice' together!" The Oni said before attacking them once more. They luckily avoided the attack and were able to hurt him a little bit, but not enough. They knew that Hana had to come out of trance first.

"Don't you worry, Matamune. you don't need to sacrifice again." Yoh was finally able to answer Matamune. "I don't plan on losing anyone today. I'm tired of so many years of fights and sacrifices in order to get what? Just more challenges with more fights and more sacrifices? What am I supposed to get with that? I only keep losing more things that are dear to me, and I gain others just to lose them later! But I'm not going to lose anything today."

Yoh got the most dead-serious expression he had ever had in his entire life. It was time for him to get his happy ending. A real one. The one he intended ever since he started knowing what life was. He looked at his wife, who was still not too certain about his decision, and then up at his son, who, much to his surprise, was still conscious.

"Don't you worry, Hana-chan!" He yelled at him in a totally different tone. (yeah he's bipolar XD). "I won't give up until you get rid of that curse that's causing you so much pain."

"Eh?" Hana asked trying to remain awake. He still thought about revenge and such things, but he didn't really feel that in his heart. He was too tired to feel anything. "What is he trying to tell me?"

"I know you don't want to listen to me anymore, Hana-dono... But I can assure you that your parents are doing everything in their power and will to save you. They had been away all this time because they were trying to keep you safe, but then things turned out complicated and you had to be adopted by someone else. They didn't even know what Tamao-san (sounds so weird... suggestion for a better sufix?) had done, but of course, she did it with the best of intentions..."

"Why would I believe you?" Hana put a hand on one side of his head to try stop the headache.

"You don't have to take my word if you don't want to, but you can see with your own eyes that those people would do anything to protect you. And nobody knows better than them exactly what you're going through..."

"I don't think anyone knows what this feels like, how much it hurts..." Hana said with tears in his eyes. He felt so exhausted emotionally and physically, and he was just 6 years-old, he couldn't take all that in his small body.

"The pain of not knowing enough about your family, the pain of being abandoned, the pain of feeling you don't have a place in this world. All of those. They know. And I sure know too."

Hana's eyes widened at Matamune's words and he looked at the fight going on because of him. It started to make sense. Maybe they didn't leave him on purpose, maybe he did have a family that loved him, maybe he still had a chance to be happy, and maybe he could actually trust someone... Just considering the possibilities, Hana felt a little more relieved, and the Oni's defense weakened a little as well.

"What's happening?" The Oni asked confused. "Father, what are you doing? You need to concentrate or you'll make me disappear!"

"I want you to stop." Hana spoke from above. He could barely stand up and he had trouble to breathe, but he looked proud like the little man he was.

"What are you talking about? Don't you remember what they have done to you? I'm just fulfilling your wish..."

"No." Hana shook his head and cleared his throat. "Whatever they have done to me, I will work it out on my own. I need you to go away and leave me alone with them."

"You can't be serious! You're nothing without me! You need me so you can defend yourself!"

"I don't! I need to learn the truth myself, even if I die in the process." Suddenly all the other 3 felt so proud of Hana. He was brave and at the same time innocent like his dad, and just as stubborn as his mom. He was standing there facing the Oni with nothing but his Futsu no mitama, his determination and his heart full of fear.

"If that's the case... I'll eat your soul so I can get all the power I need, and that will be enough to defeat them. If you don't need me, I much less need you either!" Just as it said those words, the Oni attacked Hana, causing a landslide with the ground Hana was standing on, making him fall straight to...

"Thank God…" Hana heard a voice saying. He felt two strong arms holding him close and tight. He could hear the person breathing hard and could feel the hands shaking with fear. "Are you okay, Hana-chan?"

Hana opened his eyes, which he hadn't even realized he had closed during the fall, and saw his father's face, looking at him with concerned eyes and a relieved smile on his lips. It was the first time Hana was actually looking at his dad. He noticed that his eyes and nose were very much like his own. And his smile was just like the ones Hana gave to Tamao and Ryu some times. Even if his mouth was not much like the one of his dad, he could see that the smile was one thing both had in common.

So… Hana really did look like his father after all.

Yoh was relieved that he was able to catch his son on time. The moment he saw Hana trying to get up and trying to face the oni on his own he couldn't be more proud. His little son was there, in pain, but he still was willing to face that oni. Well, the words _even if I die in the process_ weren't exactly calming, but Yoh knew he would never let his son get hurt again, no matter what. He would never let this go that far. After all this was over he planned to explain to Hana what happened, and beg for forgiveness. Then he planned to be the father he never was. He planned to enjoy his life with his beautiful wife and his incredibly cute son.

Seriously, Yoh knew Hana was just the most adorable kid when he was a baby. He remembered carrying a picture of Hana around and looking at it every single time he had a chance. He would then try to imagine how that little baby would look now, but not even in a million years had he imagined he would turn out to be so cute. His blonde hair really looked like a short version of Anna's hair. And his eyes were the exact copy of his. And so was the nose. But his mouth was just like Anna's. He knew if he saw Hana smiling it would be just like seeing Anna smiling.

When he saw Hana falling he could feel his heart beating fast. For a half of a second he thought his son would die. He lost all hopes and thought that he would lose his son, his little Hana. He thought he would lose his reason to live at that moment. If Hana died, what would he do? How would he be able to live each day for the rest of his life knowing that his son died right in front of his eyes and he did nothing to stop it? How would he go on living each day wondering how it would be like if his son was alive?

Fortunately that wouldn`t happen. His feet started moving without him even noticing. It was automatical. He just ran as fast as he could so he would be able to get his son in time. And once he caught him, he let his breath out, and he didn`t even notice he was holding it! And now, at this moment, he was taking a good look at his precious son. For the first time he was holding his son in his arms… And it felt amazing.

"H-Hai." Hana answered in a low voice. Even if now he felt safe, he was still very tired and the many thoughts were still invading his mind and he had a headache and his body was not answering anymore and…! If he could only close his eyes for just one second…

"Thank God…" Yoh opened another smile and hugged his son. He then noticed the Oni was about to attack his son again. He hugged him close "Don't let go Hana-chan." He told him calmly. He didn't want to worry the little boy. And when speaking to him he could never use a tone that would be anything but pleasant.

He held his son close and started to run towards his wife. Anna was kneeling on the ground. She had lost strength in her legs and fell when she saw Hana falling. But now she was crying and was smiling. She was so relieved Yoh caught their little treasure.

As she saw Yoh running towards her she stood up, just in time to have Yoh handing Hana in her arms.

"Yoh, what are you doing…?" Anna asked as she held her son. His head was resting on her shoulder, and her hands were placed on his back, so he wouldn't fall.

"Go with Hana as far as you can and wait for me… I will finish the oni!" Yoh yelled and turned around, the Harusame pointed towards the oni. He watched as Anna obeyed him and ran with Hana. The little boy was looking at him with concerned eyes. Yoh couldn't help but smile. Hana was worried… Worried about him! Even after everything, after leaving him for six years and indirectly causing the oni, for being a bad father for the first few minutes they were together before Hana running away…. Even after all that Hana still showed concern towards him.

"I will make you pay oni..." said Yoh "I will make you pay for what you've done to my son!" and with that he started to attack the big monster.

Anna ran to a place where she knew it was safe and at the same time could see what was going on. She placed Hana on the floor, but the boy didn't have enough strength to stand on his feet. He fell forwards, but Anna caught him in a warm embrace.

She hugged him as if she would never let go. She didn't want to. She felt that if she let go of him, maybe he would vanish from her life forever. She wouldn't let that happen. She couldn't live without her son. Once he entered her life she could never let him go.

Hana continued to watch the fight, even when Anna holding him. He was not understanding what was going on. Well, he did, it was just confusing. He stopped watching the fight when he noticed the hair of the woman who was hugging him. She had blonde hair. Blonde hair, like his. His entire life he wondered from where did he got that color of hair, but now he knew. His mom had blonde hair. He smiled as he remembered the mother and the son with similar hair and haircuts… He never would have imagined it that him and his mother were like that as well. And he also remembered the woman embracing the child like they had not seen each other in a long time. He never thought his mother would hug him like that… But it looked like he was wrong.

"Hana… Are you okay?" asked Anna, backing away a little bit so she could see the boy's eyes. She smiled as she saw he was okay. "I'm so glad…" Anna gently passed her finger on Hana's blonde hair so it wouldn't cover his black eyes. Her smile was gentle, a smile that only existed for her son.

"Hai…" He answered again. And then his eyes turned to his father. Anna smiled even more noticing the fact that her son was concerned for Yoh… That meant he was starting to accept them.

"Your father knows what to do…" she said, receiving a surprise look from the boy. She smiled once more, but then it faded away and was replaced for a concern look when she heard her son moan in pain.

The Oni was losing the battle. At every moment he was feeling his body getting weaker and weaker. He knew the reason. The boy was starting to accept the two of them. And that was no good for him. With the shaman and the nekomata, and the boy making him weaker at every second there was no way he would survive this battle. He needed to become stronger… The boy needed to lose control again.

"What is it father? You don't think these two actually care for you, do you?" That caught Hana's and Anna's attention. Hana looked sad and confused at the oni, while Anna hugged the boy closer and in a protective way and looked at the oni with anger burning in her eyes. "Do you remember all those days in school with everyone teasing you? Do you remember what they said? They said your real parents abandoned you, didn't they? But you denied it! And guess what? They were right! They never loved you, father! They don't love you and they never will! Think father! All the moments between Parents and children you've seen! When did you have that? When WILL you have that? And who knows, maybe they will leave you again! Or maybe they will just have another kid who they will love and forget about you! Face it father… You. Are. Alone."

At this point Hana was back at fetal position, holding his ears so tight Anna could see a bit of blood. All around them lost souls started to appear, giving the oni more strength. But that wasn't what concerned Anna the most. As she hugged Hana and tried to comfort him she could feel him shaking, she could see the tears rolling down his cheeks and she could also see his tired eyes. She could feel his body getting weaker and weaker as more souls appeared. At this rate Hana would… Hell no.

"I'm sorry, Hana..." Anna spoke trying to ignore the Oni's words as she continued to hold Hana and caressed his hair. "If our abscence caused you so much pain, you can't imagine how empty we felt without you... But neither of us will feel empty again, because we're staying here forever."

Hana didn't answer. He was weeping and trying to make the pain go away. He didn't know who to listen to, he didn't know who to trust... And the voices kept ringing in his head over and over. Anna hated to see him in pain. Especially because she knew better than anyone what he was going through. Slowly she let go of him and carefully left him on the ground, leaving him even more confused.

When he looked up to see where she was going, or try to stop her, or say something, anything... He noticed the real reason why she had left him for that brief moment.

"The first is for my mother...

The second is for my father...

The third is for my siblings and my hometown..."

"And the final is for my son... Now... all of you... go to hell!" Anna spoke her new improved chant to gather all the lost souls that were hurting Hana and sent them straight to the place they were supposed to be at... Then Hana could finally hear his own thoughts and the confusion was gone. For the first time in that horrible day, he could finally breathe in and out and actually stop to try and pick up the pieces of everything he had been told.

"Are you okay?" She asked him after finishing with the souls and noticing the strange expression he had. He just nodded and tried to get up, failing miserably again. She caught her little one on her arms again and put her head on his. "What you're going through... I've been there..."

"Eh?" It was the only thing he could murmur. He still felt weak and he didn't know what to say, but he was paying attention to her and it was all that mattered.

"Since I was born, I could see other people's feelings, just like you... I grew up with this ability, and one day, the thoughts were so negative and they were so many, that I exploded and created an Oni."

"Really?" He turned his head to see her, still not believing half of the story. "And what did you do?"

"I just opened my heart... I trusted someone... And he saved me." She smiled at him while walking with him on her arms. "So you don't have to worry about a thing now, because your dad and I are going to save you... _even if we die in the process."_

"I don't... even know who to trust anymore..."

"When I was little, my parents left me because I had this power... and all my life what I really wanted was someone who could love me despite of that... The point is, we are not like my parents, we didn't leave you for you, we left because we had a war to win in order to make the world better for you... and we've returned because we love you... and no matter how dangerous your power is, or how hard it is for you to control it, we will love you despite of that... So, Hana, you can trust us or not, you just need to ask yourself: What do you really want?"

"What... I want..." Hana repeated slowly... Finally things started making sense. It all felt too good to be true, he was free from those horrible thoughts and he felt so warm in his mother's arms, and he had felt so loved when his dad caught him when he fell... If they didn't love him, why would they do that for him...? What did he really want?

Meanwhile, the Oni was almost done for. Yoh was amazed at how it even seemed easy to defeat it, and he thought everyone was doing a great job. He had 2 spirits now, so he certainly had an advantage, but he knew that defeating the Oni was just the beginning of the hard work he had ahead... Killing a monster was a piece of cake compared to trying to earn the love from the son he hadn't seen in more than 6 years.

"Father, help me! Do something! Remember!" The Oni said to Hana over and over again. Hana asked Anna to leave him on the ground, which she refused to, considering he couldn't even stand up, but he insisted, so she did, and this time, he made it. He stood on his feet and walked to the battlefield.

"Hana, what are you doing? You can't go there, it's dangerous!" She warned him from behind and went to stop him.

"No, I need to do something... One last thing..." Hana responded. He was so wounded and tired it broke his mother's heart. "Dad!"

**Continue in Chapter 3**

**RavenAK:**Well here is chapter 2, we hope we didn't make you wait too long... here it is! Enjoy and please comment

**Smart Angel: **A lot shorter than our last chapter, that's for sure. And a lot shorter than the one that will come next. To the ones who wish to know, the entire fanfic is already finished. We finished a few weeks before publishing chapter one. First we wrote everything and then we divided in chapters and then we corrected some mistakes. In short all we are doing now is receiving your reviews and publishing the chapters.


	3. Chapter 3

**Before you read this fanfic be aware that:**

if you haven't read Funbari no Uta, this fic is full of spoilers. So go read it now

We do not own Shaman King or Funbari no Uta. If we did there would be a lot more YohXAnna scenes and Hana wouldn't have been left alone.

**Chapter 3**

Yoh turned around as a reflex, thinking his mind had tricked him. Hana wouldn't call him dad so soon, or would he? "Dad, I think you should have this!"

Hana threw something in the air and Yoh got hold of it. The Futsu no mitama. By the time he looked up again to say something to Hana, he only saw Anna lifting him up on her arms, almost unconscious. This time he had fainted for good.

"I'm sorry... mom..." He said one last time before he closed his eyes and finally fell asleep. She was hurt to see him suffering so much, but she knew it was better if he just rested a bit. He had struggled for so long... She looked back at Yoh who was still shocked at the whole scene, and without a second look he grabbed the small weapon and made an Over Soul with Matamune on it, and Amidamaru in the HaruSame.

(RavenAK's Note: So yeah, somehow at some point of their journey they found the way to make Matamune able to switch from spirit form to material form happily without much effort... Yeah... Maybe he's just a spirit now, I don't know...)

The Oni didn't even have a chance to blink. Yoh attacked so fast that all you could see was light, dust and some blood. After being convinced it was finally over, each spirit returned to original form and Yoh just fell on his back, feeling the weight of the world in his whole body.

"He… He called me dad…" Yoh said with a big smile on his face. Tears were coming from his eyes. "He actually called me dad. He accepted me." He sobbed a little before cleaning his tears and sitting up. He still had a big smile on his face. Yoh looked at the futsu no mitama and his smile grew bigger as he remembered the scene of his son calling for him "He called me dad."

Yoh got up and walked toward his family. His family. That thought made him smile even more… If it even was possible. His family together. Yesterday it was only a dream, but now, now that the battle with the oni was finally over, having his family together was a reality.

He wasn't surprised to see Hana unconscious. He saw the little blonde shaman fainting in his mother's arms. He used too much power. To tell the truth, Yoh was very nervous that time. He knew that if the oni kept feeding itself with Hana's power, Hana would die. So he ended the battle as fast as he could.

"He is unconscious." Said Anna, as soon as Yoh got there. Her eyes never leaving her son's face.

"He used too much power." Responded Yoh, getting down on his knees so he could have a better look "He may be one of the strongest shamans I've seen, but he still is a 6 year old child."

A six year old child who should be playing, making friends and not worrying about onis, training, fighting… Or any of that nonsense! Hana should be enjoying his childhood. Yoh still couldn't believe all the things his son had to go through. He was a shaman, yes, but why couldn't he enjoy a normal life?

6 hours had passed since the Oni was defeated. Everyone was back at the safety of their home, but Hana never noticed, for he was still unconscious. He was still sleeping in his mother's arms, who took him upstairs and tucked him on his bed. She had cleaned his face with a wet towel, and she had caressed his face for a long time, but he didn't notice. She wasn't worried though, because his breathing and pulse were stable, he was just too tired.

Dad had been holding the child's hand the whole while, he hadn't even rested for one second, and he was equally tired, but he was an adult, he could take it. Besides, he wanted to see him when he woke up. He had never been able to see his child open his eyes after sleep. He had missed so many different things, but he wasn't willing to miss any other. And if he needed to stay there for another 20 hours until Hana woke up, he would wait. After all, he had waited six long years, a few more hours wouldn't affect him.

"Excuse me." Tamao's face appeared on the door. "Would you like me to start heating water for your bath or would you like to do so later?"

"Thanks, but... we want to stay here until he wakes up." Yoh told her nicely and she nodded and left. He could see in her expression that she was tranquil now. He remembered hours ago when she had been panicked to see Hana unconscious with his clothes dirty and stained. Now she was calmer, and frankly, she also deserved some tranquility, because that little kid was the most important person in her life.

"Are you sure you don't want to rest for a bit? You haven't slept at all since we arrived." Anna asked him.

"I'm fine." He lied. "Besides you haven't rested at all either. Maybe you should take a bath and relax for a while."

"Nonsense. I'm not nearly as wounded as you are. If you're still standing, so am I." He didn't answer anything else and just smiled. He wondered if Hana was as stubborn as his mom... He probably was, from what he could see.

Then they were silent, just like they were before Tamo asked about the bath. It had been a long day, and now all they wanted to do was to make sure Hana was okay, and be there when he woke up.

"When he wakes up I'm going to take him out so we can eat ice cream." Yoh said, startling Anna, for she was almost half asleep "Maybe two." He started laughing "And we'll play in the park together! It will be so much fun! We'll run around and play by that river, just like father and son do!"

"You're very excited." Anna said, smiling gently and then looking down at her son, with concerned eyes. Sure, he was tired, he used too much energy in just a few hours. Anna slept trough days after the events that happened on Osorezan 12 years ago. Some old guy who Yoh had saved came and gave them a ride, and while in the car Anna ended up sleeping resting her head on Yoh's shoulder. She just woke up 5 days later, and found out that Yoh was going to leave in 2 days. She also found out that she had slept on Yoh's shoulder, he carried her all the way to her room and tucked her in. She also had a fever and sometimes had nightmares. Yoh was the one taking care of her during that time. She was so embarrassed that she didn't have the courage to face him until the day of his departure.

Hana would probably sleep for some time too. And he would probably have some fever during the time. His case was different than hers. He had never used his powers before. It was the first time he heard so many thoughts at the same time. Before, he could control his power. No, his full powers hadn't developed fully yet. When he heard the news about Tamao, about her and Yoh and about all the lies, he was so furious that the power just suddenly woke up, instead of doing it little at a time. Anna had her power fully awake when she created her Oni. But even if the cases were different, the outcome was the same: They used too much energy, were confused and realized someone cared for them.

Anna knew it would take some time before Hana woke up. And when he did, it would be a little hard to get out of bed. But she did, because she wanted to thank Yoh and say good bye. She needed to see him one more time.

But to Hana they were there. And they were going to be there when he woke up. So he wouldn't need to stand up or do anything until he was feeling better. Also, as soon as he woke up they would need to have a talk with him. Sure, Hana knew about Anna's power and he knew that they cared. But that wasn't enough. He didn't know _why _they left, or why they _came back_. He was also probably confused about many things. Right now the only thing he was sure of was that Yoh and Anna cared for him. Nothing else. The rest they needed to explain it as soon as he woke up.

"We'll take him out for an ice cream and to play in the park, but after he feels better." She then looked at Yoh angry "And you too! You're hurt! A lot more hurt than me! You and Hana need to rest! If you don't, who knows what could happen? What if one of you, or _both_ of you end up fainting during that time?" She let out a deep breath "Sometimes you just see the good side and forget to think about the risks…"

Yoh couldn't help but laugh. Yup. That was definitely Anna.

"What's so funny?" she asked angry.

"Just like I thought. You're an over-protective mother." He looked at her gently. Many people would think Anna would be the tough mother. The one that almost never showed any care for her child, who would slap him if he did something wrong, make him do many and many chores and do the hell training. But Yoh knew Anna better. Anna never had a family. And Yoh, even if he did have a family, it wasn't a family that spent a lot of time together. He just saw his father 2 times, his grandma lived far away and his mother was always working. His grandfather was the one who used to teach him and train him.

Yoh and Anna had no time for fun when they were kids. Anna was abandoned by her parents and when found by Kino, she spent half of the time in her room and the other half preparing herself to prepare Yoh to face Hao. And Yoh always had to worry about the Shaman Fight and Hao. Even before he knew Hao existed Yoh was preparing himself to face him. Neither Yoh nor Anna had a pleasant and normal childhood or quality family time. That was the last thing they wanted Hana to go through.

Sure, he was a shaman. But besides that he had no reason whatsoever to worry about other things. He had no Shaman Fight, no evil twins – This they were sure about – or the fate of the world in his hands. Nothing. Besides being a shaman, Hana had no reason to live a different childhood.

But he had. His first 6 years were far from normal or pleasant. Sure, it may have been pleasant, but now when he looked back what would he see? Parents who weren't there? Family that lied to him? No friends? Those weren't things a child should go through.

And yet he did. Yoh was aware of that. And he didn't want to continue to go on. He wanted to be with his son and his wife, with the two most important people in his life, and live happily ever after. Live an easy life. Not as a family of shamans or the Asakura family. Just as a family that loved each other and was together. That was what Yoh wanted and what Anna wanted. And they were sure that deep down inside his heart Hana wanted, needed that as well.

"So you're finally awake, Hana-dono." Hana could recognize the voice at the same instant. The calm and gentle way of talking, the volume of the voice and the sound itself. They were all unique. Also the fact that there was only one person who called him 'Hana-dono' and that was Matamune, his best and only friend.

"Mata… mune…" he was quiet for a moment. His head ached and he could hear many different voices at the same time. It was also hard to remember at first what had happened or why he was in bed.

Then the events started coming back to him. His mother wasn't really his mother, and his parents had just come back from a long trip. He was so upset that he ran away from home, losing control of his power and creating a giant oni, who tried to manipulate and take advantage of him in that weak stage. But then his parents saved him. Then he gave the futsu no mitama to his dad and… Everything went dark.

He already had an idea of what happened next. His parents probably won against the oni and brought Hana back home. His guess was confirmed when he turned his head to the side and saw both his mother and his father sleeping.

"They were hoping to stay awake until you woke up… But they were really tired from the journey and the fight. They have been sleeping for 16 hours now." Matamune said, and smiled at the astonished "You have been sleeping for a day and a half."

"I never slept so much. I'm gonna be hyper for the rest of the day today and tomorrow." He then opened a smile. Then he looked back at his parents and let out a sigh. Seriously, how do grownups expect to take care of kids if they can't even take care of themselves?

He then got up and started to move his parents, with difficulty, to the futon which he was laying on just a few seconds ago. They were quite heavy for a six year old, but Hana did it. He then put a blanket over them, letting out another sigh.

He stopped for a second before turning back to Matamune. He could swear he heard his father calling him, in a very low voice, before going to a deep sleep again. But it was probably his imagination.

"Matamune…" He called, looking down.

Matamune smiled. He knew the boy very well and knew exactly what he was going to do. Hana wasn't a very sociable boy. Well, that was an understatement. Because of his family and his parents no one ever wanted to talk to the boy. The only ones Hana had were Tamao, Ryu and Matamune himself.

Hana also hated being wrong. He hated being wrong and never admitted it when it happened. When he had the need to apologize he always looked down, hiding his embarrassed face with his blonde hair. He really had no experience in this kind of situation. It was very awkward to the little boy, but to the ones watching it wasn't anything but extremely cute.

"So… Sorry…" Hana finally said, in a very low voice "I was confused and… Mad. I… I didn't know if I could trust anyone, and I ended up hurting you." He then gave a quick look to Matamune's face before looking back down "B-But that's no excuse. I… I should have known that I could trust at least you Matamune. Sorry."

"It's okay Hana-dono." Matamune said, smiling "I understand. And I know so will your parents."

Yoh could have sworn he saw his son's face. Hana-chan's face. He was looking at him while covering him with a blanket. Yoh tried to call him, but he ended up falling asleep again. He wanted to reach out for him, but couldn't. His whole body was asleep, and his brain was telling him to do the same.

Now he was awake, and was surprised to find himself laying on the futon which Hana was sleeping in. He looked around and saw that Anna was sleeping by his side. They were in Hana's room, sleeping in Hana's futon, with Hana's blanket… But no sign of Hana.

_I can't believe I fell asleep! _Yoh thought, passing his fingers through his hair. He wanted so much to be there when Hana woke up. He wanted to see his little boy opening his eyes. He wanted to be the first one who he would see. He wanted to smile and hug his little boy at the first chance he had.

"Where is Hana-chan, Amidamaru?" Yoh asked, sensing his friend in the room.

"Tamao told him to stay outside. She thought it may bother both of you if he stayed here waiting. He is downstairs with Matamune." Amidamaru answered, smiling. "Hana-dono has been awake for a few hours now. Tamao and Ryu are making breakfast."

"Breakfast? It's morning already?" Yoh asked incredously.

"Yes, actually, lots of hours have passed." Amidamaru answered.

"I can't believe I slept so long! I thought it had just been a couple of hours..." He sighed.

"What's going on? Why are you being so noisy?" Anna asked just waking up, eyes still closed.

"It's morning already. We fell asleep!"

"What? Morning?" She then fully opened her eyes and looked around, realizing where she was. She was in Hana's futon, next to Yoh and a floating Amidamaru, but there was no Hana to be found. "Oh my, why did you let me oversleep?!"

"I was asleep too!" Yoh defended himself. "I'm sorry, I should have stayed awake, I just... I don't know when it happened, I just fell asleep without noticing..."

"Well, this is bad. Now Hana must think his parents are just a couple of lazy bastards..." She got up from the futon quickly and brushed her hair back with her hands. "I can't believe I fell asleep!"

"I know... Well, we must get to talk to him now!"

They both got ready and walked down the stairs to search for him. He wasn't in the living room, so they went to the kitchen to say good morning to Tamao and Ryu, and ask them where Hana was.

"I believe he's outside, in the backyard." Tamao told them. "He said he had to go out to do something important..."

They then followed Tamao's directions and went outside, to the backyard. There he was, doing something, they didn't know exactly what, but he seemed busy. Now they just needed to say hello, and then... talk to him. But what exactly could they say now?

"Go talk to him." Anna said pushing Yoh a little.

"What? No, I'm not going alone. We have to talk to him together."

"Ok, but you should say something first."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Whatever you want."

"What is it with you? Are you afraid to talk to him?" Yoh couldn't believe she was actually telling him to talk to Hana, while she just stayed behind.

"Of course I'm not! I just think you should take the first step, that's all!"

"But-"

"Um... Hello." They heard Hana's voice as he appeared in front of them. Their little argument about their cowardly to talk to their own child had distracted them from the goal, which was, ironically, talking to their child.

"Hana! Hello!" They said at the same time, looking at him straight in the eyes.

"Did you have a nice rest?" He awkwardly asked, trying to hide his natural shyness.

"Yeah, yes we did, Hana-chan. How about you?" Yoh asked smiling warmly. It was just so natural to him. The son he had never had the chance to meet was talking to him, using his words, being a regular kid... It was so unbelievable and yet it was happening. Just like that.

"I had a good rest too..." His eyes turned to look at Anna now. She didn't know what to say. Her little baby was now standing on his two feet, watching her, talking, demanding an answer from her, a simple casual morning answer, but she didn't know what to say. She didn't even know if she had to feel happy and blessed for having him, or sad and miserable for missing so many years of him. She just lowered her head, trying to imagine what would have happened if they had never, ever been separated. If things would have been like that, this conversation would be just a regular, common, daily one. And not a heart-breaking, confusing one.

Hana looked at his mom concerned, wondering what had happened. He started thinking that maybe it was his fault, that maybe she felt bad because of what he made them go through. Little Hana had decided that it was time to say what he had been preparing.

"Um... I..." He started mumbling. "I wanted to say that... About yesterday... I didn't mean to... I don't really hate you or anything, it's not your fault..." He lowered his head too. Yoh smiled. His wife and son were so alike in so many ways... They just couldn't be any more adorable.

"We know." Anna finally spoke. They both turned to see her, as well as their spirits. "It's just that, when all that desperation fills your mind and your soul, there's not much you can do, right?"

Hana nodded. He realized there was no one in the world who could understand him as much as his mom. She had felt in her own skin what he had just gone through. She had survived though, and somehow she had taught him how to survive it too. She had given him all of her love, as well as his dad's love, so he could break away from his darkness and find his own happiness.

"But it's alright now." She smiled at him. "We're all alright and safe now, and we don't have to suffer anymore..."

Yoh's smile grew wider. He was so proud of his family, and of himself, for being able to come all the way and save his little priceless child of love. Hana just stared at her, trying to organize his thoughts. He didn't know what to say next. He felt so, so sorry for what he had done, he didn't know how to make up for it... Well, he did have an idea, he just thought it wasn't enough...

"I... just wanted to say sorry..." Hana spoke blushing a little. It was even more awkward than he had imagined.

"Don't worry, Hana-chan. You don't have to apologize. You were in your right to feel that way." Yoh assured him, kneeling next to him to put a hand on his shoulder. "But I promise you that we will try as hard as we can to make it up for everything we've missed..."

"I know..." Hana answered. "...I will try too, as much as I can, to make it up to you, for all that we've missed together."

Then they all smiled with true happiness. They were finally together, and in peace. It was unbelievable but true. And they all wanted to try, because in their hearts they had always been a family, even before Hana-chan knew it.

"By the way..." The little boy continued. "I was picking these for you, as a gift..."

He then showed them what he had in his hands, what he had been doing for the past hour: Picking several flowers for his parents. "I got a lilly and orange flowers, because I like how they smell and how they look together. There is two big ones and a little one..."

They both took the flowers in their hands, trying to hold back the tears. That gesture meant so much, so, so much... Instinctively, they both hugged the child at the same time, their own way of returning the gesture.

Hana was taken by surprise at the show of affection, so the only thing he could do was close his eyes and put his little arms in his parents' backs. He had never been hugged, so he really didn't know how to do it... but it was a good way to begin

But Yoh and Anna could feel it. Even though Hana was hugging them back, even though he had shown that he accepted them, something still didn't felt right. It was almost as if... As if while hugging them, Hana was trying to keep some distance between them. Maybe he got hurt during the battle? Or did he think they were hurt? Maybe he was just being a bit careful. Still... Something was off.

----------

A few months later... Yoh, Anna and Hana are all sitting in the couch, watching a nice TV movie on a Sunday night. It was the only thing they could find on any channel that the three of them would enjoy. Matamune and Amidamaru were both talking in the other room, commenting on how things were going and how the family was finally beginning to readjust and find harmony.

Things had been going nice with them. Tamao and Ryu, after two weeks, left the Inn, to give the family time to bound and stay together. Yoh and Anna would bring and pick up Hana at school. After they came back Anna would help Hana with his homework while Yoh prepared a lunch for the three of them. Then they just spent the day together. They also always spent time doing what normal families do; going to the park, playing and eating out. It would be just like in Yoh's dreams... But there was just one thing that felt... Weird.

It was as if Hana still felt insecure, or scared. Yes, he smiled at them, he spent a lot of time with them and he obeyed them. But there was something uncomfortable about him... sometimes the smile would just fade away, and he still wasn't able to tell them anything by his own will. They always had to ask him. It was as if he didn't want to take any chance

He would also have a hard time when they tried to hug him or even touch him. When they were going to cross a street and hold his hand, Hana would often look surprised, and at the first chance he had he would let go of the hand. Always trying to keep his distance from them. He had accepted them, but wouldn't let them get close to him for some reason. He also had a very hard time calling them "dad" and "mom".

Despite all the difficulties, they kept trying. They were aware that it would be hard for Hana to accept the whole situation and his new life. But they had made progress in the last months, and knew that things would keep getting better. So there they were, spending a nice weekend with their little child, watching a nice movie, rain falling outside, hitting the windows and creating a soft beat.

Matamune was the first to notice the rain. As soon as he heard the sound of the water coming from the sky hitting the cold windows he turned to look at the young blond shaman, concerned. The boy was sitting with his knees up and a blanket covering him up to his neck. He was paying close attention to the TV and didn't seem to have noticed yet the rain. The nekomata smiled satisfied. In those last months there had been almost no rain, no storm, so the couple weren't they aware of Hana's "fear" of thunderstorm. And Hana was hoping they would never know. Not that he told Matamune that. The boy was too embarrassed to talk about his "fear" or his parents with anyone, even Matamune. But the cat knew his best friend so well that he didn't even need to ask the boy, he knew that Hana didn't want Yoh and Anna to find about the thunderstorm. He still wanted his parents to see him as the strong kid who stood up to the big oni.

Lightning flashed through the sky, and thunder echoed like the complaint of an angry god. Hana held his knees closer to his chest and started shaking, but he tried to put himself together. He bit his bottom lip in an attempt to keep his calm and tried to focus on the movie, but it was difficult. He barely could listen. The drops were falling faster and harder, and the sky just kept sounding so horribly loud. When he thought it couldn't get worse, he saw the TV image weaken and in less than a second it was gone. And so was the sound, and the lights of the rest of the house.

Anna didn't notice the thunderstorm until the lights went out. She was watching the movie until she noticed Hana moving his knees closer. She looked at him and noticed how strange he was acting, not enjoying the TV show, but rather trying to force himself to keep looking at the TV. She could see there was something wrong, but didn`t know what. It was hard to understand what Hana was feeling, he often tried to keep everything inside. Plus, because Hana shared the same power she had, Anna couldn`t read his mind, so she could only guess what was bothering him. It annoyed her. As if it wasn`t enough that she didn`t know her own son well enough to understand his reactions she also could never know if something was wrong with him. When they, Yoh and her, knew something was wrong with the little 6 year old they would have to spend a long time trying to make Hana tell them what was wrong.

The second the lights went off, Yoh immediately moved in his seat, taken by surprise by the sudden darkness. "Aww, and the movie was so good!!" he whined. "I'll go get a lantern, or a candle. Don't move." He got up from his place and went to the kitchen, almost tripping with something on the floor. Whatever it was, he didn't remember it being there before. Meanwhile, now it was darker and more silent, leaving Hana alone with the unbearable sound of thunderstorm, which subconsciously caused him so much pain, but he couldn't figure why. Anna reached a hand to him, to assure him that she was still there, even though he couldn't see her, and at the touch he jumped a little in his seat.

Anna wasn`t surprised by his reaction. Hana was always surprised when they made physical contact. Another thunder, and with the light coming from the sky Anna could see that her son was no longer by her side.

"Hana? Where are you?! Hana!" she started to call after her son, but no answer came. Soon Yoh was back, with a flash light, looking around worried.

"Where is Hana-chan?" worry was obvious in his voice.

"I don't know. One minute he was on the couch and then..." Anna bit her lip. Great. Just great. As if she didn't feel like the worst mother in the world for leaving her son and being the one responsible for giving him a power that was like a curse, now she lost him.

"And then...? Yoh inquirid.

"I don't know he just disappeared!" she answered in exasperation. "Hana!where did you go?"

"Hana!" called Yoh, now also very worried.

"Yoh-dono! Hana-dono is right here" Amidamaru called them from the other room. They both ran in the direction and heard Hana's soft cry coming from the floor.

All they could see at first was what seemed like a trembling blanket, with low sobs coming from it. No need to be a genius to know what, or who, was under the blanket. He was also shaking and trying so badly to suppress the tears and the sobs.

Yoh then took the blanket out revealing their little son. The scene was heart breaking. Hana was with his knees up to his chest, his head hidden in his knees and his hands holding his ears so tight that it would, eventually, hurt him. He was also shaking and trying so badly to suppress the tears and the sobs.

"Hana-chan..." Yoh tried to talk to him. "It's alright... don't worry."

"Hana, we're here, it's okay, it's just the rain..." Anna said kneeling next to the little boy and holding his hands. She slowly took the hands off of his ears to make him more comfortable, but he kept sobbing

"I-I know..." he said, between sobs.

Yoh smiled sympathetically "Don't worry Hana-chan. The thunders are loud and scary, but can't hurt you."

"I... I k-know that! I... I'm n-not... not stu... stupid!" but even as he said that, he couldn't stop the sobs from coming out of his mouth or his tears to fall down from his eyes and cheeks. As they heard another thunder, the boy let out a low scream and lowered even more his head, taking his hand away from Anna's and covering his ears again, not caring about how tight his hold was or if it was going to hurt him.

"Hana-chan..." Yoh called again, confused

"It's no use, Yoh-dono." Matamune sudenly appeared.

"Come on, he's afraid of thunder, but he'll get over it!" Anna told the cat, confident in her child's strength.

"That's not what Hana-dono is truly afraid of..." he continued. The rest just looked at him, and Hana suddenly lifted his head to tell him something

"What? what are you going to say, Ma-Matamune? I'm not afraid of anything... I just... I just..." tears kept forming in his eyes as the sound of another thunder came. "Agh!! make it stop already!"

"Hana-dono..." Matamune said, not knowing what he could say after that.

"J-Just shut up Matamune!" The boy said, looking at Matamune with his eyes red. "You... You have... no right to tell them... Anything." he said in a low whisper.

"Tell us what? Matamune! If you don't tell me what the hell is wrong, I will-" Anna started threateningly.

"Matamune, please tell us what is going on so we can help Hana. We only want to make him feel safe and alright..." Yoh continued, pleading with his eyes which shimmered in the darkness.

"Hana-dono, I'm sorry... I must tell them the truth; it's for your own good" Matamune made a quick decision.

"Traitor..." Hana spoke in a low voice, almost to himself.

"Hana-dono is not afraid, Anna-sama. He is in pain." Matamune explained.

"No, I'm not…" Hana said, without looking at Matamune. He knew he wouldn't be able to lie if he looked at his best friend. He never feared thunder. He was never scared. It was just that when he heard that sound, it caused him so much pain. He couldn't take it. It hurt so much. It hurt so much. He couldn't help but cry.

"What do you mean he is in pain?" Yoh asked, holding Hana's arms, making sure he wasn't hurt.

"I'm not! Matamune shut up!" Hana added.

"Hana-dono..." He continued. "They are your parents, you can trust them; let's just tell them the truth..."

"Hana-chan, you don't have to worry..." Yoh told his son. "Whatever it is, we will get through this. Together. All three of us."

Hana took his hands away from his dad quickly. "There is no it to get through!" yelled Hana, holding his ears again before another thunder could be heard. And sure enough, there was another thunder. Hana sobbed as he heard the sound, and then tried to look down, his voice coming out low and in between sobs "Mata... Matamune is just... Just being an idiot cat who should mind his own business. There... There is nothing.... Nothing..." his voice came out even lower "wrong."

"Hana-dono... You may hate me for this, but I'll tell them anyway, because I want things to get better from now on..."

"And so do us..." Anna added, putting a hand on her son's hair and stroking it gently.

"There is nothing wrong with me." Hana repeated to himself, in a low voice, trying to stop the tears. When he felt Anna's hand he shook his head, refusing the affection of his mother.

Matamune told them the story of the day that Anna had left just as he recalled it. It was during a thunderstorm that she had last seen him, during a thunderstorm that he had last seen his mother, during a thunderstorm that he started feeling empty and desperate inside…

"And... that's the reason why Hana-dono feels pain when there are thunderstorms..." Matamune finished. "I am very sorry, Hana-dono, but, it's better if they know."

"Hana-chan... Matamune is right; he did it for your own good, because he cares about you." Yoh added.

"Yeah, it helps a lot." said Hana sarcastically. The pain was still there. And not, besides the pain, he also felt embarrassed. No one understood what it felt like, so he probably looked like an idiot in his parent's eyes.

"Hana-chan..." Yoh held Hana's hand out. "Look at me." The boy did so. But it was obvious it was just a reflex to the request. He soon tried to look down again, but Yoh's smile caught the boy's attention. "I understand you are in pain. I understand how you're feeling. And now that I look at it, I understand why you were keeping your distance from us."

"That is true, Hana..." Anna added coming closer to them. "There is nothing to feel embarrassed about, because, it is all my fault anyway..."

"Our fault." Yoh corrected. "But we understand. And we understand that, during all these months you were afraid of getting too close to us and we end up leaving."

"Hana-chan... We know... how you feel..." Anna started to caress his head again, trying hard to sound strong, and not in the edge of tears, how she really felt. "We know what it's like to be in pain, to feel that no one understands you... that if you open your heart you'll only get hurt... And we know it because we're of the same kind, because we have the same blood..."

"But you don't have to worry Hana-chan." Another thunder and the boy let out a scream, hiding his head as he cried even more. Yoh's smile just got sadder. "We won't leave you Hana. Never. I promise."

"We will always be together no matter what." Each of them held one of the boy's hands and smiled at him. "And we'll never let anything happen to you again. We swear it for the most sacred thing that we have, which is you."

Hana looked at them, his eyes red. He sniffed, but said nothing. "P-Promisse...?" the boy asked.

"Promise" They both said at the same time.

Another thunder sounded in the distance, and this time, Hana put his arms around his parents and held them close to him. "I don't want to feel alone anymore..."

Yoh and Anna hugged their little treasure. Hana cried now, not quietly, but very loud, letting all of his pain out. Hugging his parents tighter each time he heard another thunder.

"Don't.... " he sobbed "Don't leave... Don't leave me again.... Please...."

"We won't..." Yoh told him. "Never again."

"You don't have to worry about a thing from now on, because you'll always have us..." Added his mom.

Now they were all holding back tears.

"Don't leave." he repeated "Don't leave... Please don't leave mom, dad. Don't leave me ever again."

Matamune and Amidamaru watched the scene from a few steps away, smiling warmly, with renewed hopes for the future. A few seconds later, the electricity came back.

"Oh, the lights are back!" Yoh exclaimed happily. "Maybe we still can watch the end of the movie!"

He ran to turn on the TV, leaving Hana with his mom. The little boy wiped his tears and looked at her, and she smiled and offered him her hand.

Hana looked at Matamune, hesitant. Anna soon understood, and stood up and went to join her husband, giving her son and his best friend a little privacy.

"Um... Matamune... I..." He still found it so hard to say he was sorry. He knew he had done wrong, but he just couldn't put it into words.

"It's alright, Hana-dono. I know what you're feeling."

"I'm... I'm... s... sorry... for treating you like that..." He said blushing. Why was it so difficult?

"Your reaction was understandable, Hana-dono. No harsh feelings." Matamune smiled. "Should we go join your parents?"

"Yes..." he then looked shyly at his parents. "Mom and Dad..." he murmured to himself, smiling when he said the words. It finally felt right to call those two his parents.

They all sat on the couch to finish their movie, although it really didn't matter, for what had happened in their lives would always be more meaningful than any made up story on TV. Yoh and Anna knew that they would never again miss a moment in their son's life. They didn't want to a miss a thing anymore... They wouldn't miss a thing.

**The End**

**RavenAK:** All our work in just 2 weeks. XD

**Smart Angel:** I know, it took us all year to write that!

**RavenAK:** lol XD I blame the fight scene! we put too much effort on that one!

**Smart Angel:** Fighting scenes are hard... T_T I felt like writing "And then they fight" and skip to the end! XD

**RavenAK:** lol that's practically what we did XD fight scenes are hard! I admire shonen mangakas

**Smart Angel:** I have a whole new respect for them now... But if Takei ends up merging Yoh and Hao that respect is over. That evil mangaka... T_T But now that the fic is over... I'm going to miss it. T_T

**RavenAK:** yeah me too I had a good time!

**Smart Angel: **So did I... T_T Oh, by the way, this conversation is going to appear in the fanfic. XD *copying and pasting*

**RavenAK:** What? XD I feel like I'm on a hidden camera show. Well it's more spontaneous like this, isn't it? Well maybe the chance will come for us to write another fic together ^^ maybe if Takei RUINS everything we'll have to change the ending

**Smart Angel:** I think we will some day... XD Maybe we will write another fanfic for a year and publishy it in 2 weeks. u_u


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